Monday, October 27, 2008

"Big games draw big names." The first Gears of War game has sold well over 3 million copies, spawned a book and the development of a feature film. As one of the Xbox 360's biggest sellers, a sequel game was a foregone conclusion long ago. That sequel is due in stores this month. While KEVIN RIEPL's score for the first game was certainly good enough to warrant him being brought back for part deux, the game's producers elected to go with composer STEVE JABLONSKY. Even though Jablonsky has done his share of game scores in the past, he is fast becoming a popular choice for big, budget feature films these days. Still, the big-name-allure of GEARS OF WAR 2 must have simply been too huge to pass up. With the immiment feature film, it would make sense to lock him up to pull double duty here, but perhaps that makes too much sense. In any case, here is the full press release on the soundtrack.

MEDIA RELEASESUMTHING ELSE MUSIC WORKS ANNOUNCESRELEASE OF GEARS OF WAR 2 THE SOUNDTRACK

Original Music Score by Hollywood Composer Steve Jablonskyand performed by the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra and Chorus

New York – Oct. 27, 2008 – Sumthing Else Music Works, Inc., through its licensing relationship with Epic Games, Inc., proudly presents Gears of War® 2 The Soundtrack. The original soundtrack from the highly anticipated blockbuster Xbox 360™ action video game will be released on Nov. 25, 2008 to retail outlets through Nile Rodgers’ Sumthing Else Music Works record label www.sumthing.com, and for digital download at www.sumthingdigital.com.

Gears of War 2 The Soundtrack features a new original music score composed by Hollywood composer Steve Jablonsky (“Transformers”, “The Island”, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”) and recorded with the Skywalker Symphonic Orchestra and Chorus at the world famous Skywalker Sound.

Epic Games wanted every aspect of Gears of War 2 to be “bigger, darker, and crunchier” than the original game, including the bombastic orchestral soundtrack. Drawing on his extensive experience scoring big budget action films as well as a unique musical repertoire and Hollywood production values, Jablonsky was the perfect match for creating the adrenaline-pumping, emotionally charged Gears of War 2 score.

“It’s been a real treat working with Steve on the score for Gears of War 2. We have a tremendous amount of confidence in him, and believe the Gears community will embrace the new sound," said Mike Larson, Audio Director of Epic Games. "We’ve designed Gears 2 to impact players on a deep emotional level, and much of that connection is made with music that grabs their attention and makes them feel personally involved with the game universe. We have aimed to create something a bit more serious, cinematic, and refined with a harder-hitting approach toward composition and production.”

“Epic gave me a blank canvas, which was really great,” said Steve Jablonsky, Composer for Gears of War 2. “I experimented with a lot of hybrid organic/electronic elements, and combined them with the power of a large orchestra and choir.”

Track Listing:

1. Return Of The Omen

2. Hope Runs Deep

3. Green As Grass

4. Expectations

5. Finally, A Lead

6. Armored Prayer

7. Hold Them Off

8. Derrick Chase

9. Building Thunder

10. Hell Breaks Loose

11. Bedlam

12. Breakneck

13. Landown

14. Racing To Extinction

15. If They Can Ride Em

16. Hollow

17. Unexpected Changes

18. March Of The Horde

19. Highway

20. Denizens Of The Deep

21. With Sympathy

22. Insurmountable Odds

23. Bump In The Night

24. Frenzy

25. Outpost

26. Finale

27. Autumn Of Mankind

Gears of War 2 tells the story of humanity's last stand against the nightmarish, underground Locust Horde, and is the follow-up to one of the most popular Xbox 360 games in history. Gears of War 2 blends best-in-class third-person shooter action with unsurpassed high-definition visuals, all layered on top of an engaging story of survival, loss and retribution. Gears of War 2 will be available worldwide on Nov. 7 exclusively for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system. For more information, visit http://gearsofwar.com.

About Epic Games

Epic Games, Inc., based in Cary, NC and established in 1991, develops cutting-edge games and cross-platform game engine technology. The company has created multiple million-selling, award-winning titles in its Unreal series, most recently shipping Unreal Tournament 3 for PC, PLAYSTATION®3 and Xbox 360. Epic’s breakthrough game, Gears of War, sold 5 million copies and won over 30 Game of the Year awards. The highly anticipated sequel, Gears of War 2, is scheduled for release this November. Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 is the current holder and three-time consecutive winner of Game Developer magazine’s Best Engine Front Line Award. Additional information about Epic can be obtained through the Epic Games Web site at www.epicgames.com.

About Nile Rodgers

Award winning record producer Nile Rodgers is one of the most prolific music producers in history. Nile’s production accomplishments include such diverse artists as Diana Ross, Madonna, David Bowie, Duran Duran, The B-52’s, David Lee Roth, Grace Jones, Mick Jagger and top selling game soundtracks such as Halo® 2 Volume One. Records produced by Nile Rodgers have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide. As a founding member of the perennial Rhythm & Blues dance band Chic, Nile co-wrote all of their big hits including "Le Freak" and "Good Times", as well as "We Are Family" for Sister Sledge. In addition to records, he has also scored or produced music for numerous films including "Coming to America", "Thelma and Louise", "The Flintstones", "Beverly Hills Cop" and "Rush Hour II," as well as a variety of television shows and commercials. Nile is a board member of several organizations including the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS).About Sumthing Else Music Works, Inc.

Since its creation in the late 1990’s by the world-renowned song writer, musician and record producer, Nile Rodgers, Sumthing Else Music Works has become the acknowledged industry leader in licensing and distributing video game soundtracks. Possessing full in-house services worldwide, from creation of original video game soundtracks through physical distribution, Sumthing is partnered with the world’s leading video game developers and publishers including BioWare, Bungie Studios, Capcom, Crytek, Eidos Interactive, Epic Games, Gearbox Software, Microsoft, Mistwalker, Rare, SEGA, Silicon Knights, Sony Computer Entertainment and Ubisoft. Their catalogue of titles includes the best selling video game soundtrack of all time, Halo 2: Volume One, as well as award-winning titles including: Crysis, Advent Rising, Fable, Gears of War, Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2 Volume Two, Halo 3, Hitman: Contracts, Hitman: Blood Money, Jade Empire, Kameo: Elements of Power, Mass Effect, Red Steel, Unreal Tournament 3 and many others.

For Sumthing’s full catalogue please visit www.sumthing.com and their digital download service at www.sumthingdigital.com.

Epic, Epic Games, Gears of War, Gears of War 2, Marcus Fenix, Unreal, Unreal Engine, and Unreal Tournament are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States and elsewhere. All rights reserved. Sumthing Else Music Works and Sumthing Distribution logos are copyright of their respective companies. All other names of products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.